In Chinese culture, the zodiac cycle lasts for 12 years with each year represented by a different animal. In 2024, it is the turn of the Dragon.

As the club wishes all supporters a joyous Lunar New Year, our men’s and women’s first teams have already donned exclusively designed warm-up tops to commemorate the celebration, with The Nike Year of the Dragon Collection available here.

To mark the occasion, we have gone back through the archives to take a look at how the Blues have fared when we have previously celebrated the highly symbolic Dragon, which represents strength, good fortune, and power in Asian culture.

And, as you’ll see, previous years have brought with them plenty of success and silverware for the club throughout the decades.

1964-65

The Year of the Dragon first proved to be a good omen for the Blues back in 1964. With the year covering 13 February 1964 through to 1 February 1965, Chelsea enjoyed a successful period on the pitch, which included a run to a cup final and a title challenge.

Tommy Docherty’s team made a blistering start to their 1964-65 league campaign winning 17 and losing just four of their opening 27 league games, sitting second in the table only a point behind Leeds United when the lunar calendar concluded.

The Blues were also well on their way to winning the League Cup for the first time in club history with a 4-3 aggregate semi-final win over Aston Villa, booking a showdown with Leicester City.

Doherty’s side would go on to win 3-2 over two legs, the highlight of a tremendous season. Our crop of 2023-24 will hope to repeat this feat in only a few weeks’ time at Wembley.

1976-77

The Year of the Dragon in 1976 laid the groundwork for our charge to promotion back to the old First Division after a two-year absence. Following relegation in 1975, the Blues were managed by former full-back Eddie McCreadie as they looked for a swift return to the top flight.

And, thanks in part to the goals of Steve Finnieston who ended up with 24 in the league, promotion was sealed with a second-placed finish, just two points behind champions Wolves.

A stellar run of form between September and December proved critical, with the team losing just once in 13 league games during this period.

By the time the Lunar New Year was coming to an end on February 17, McCreadie’s team were in perfect position to finish off their promotion charge, sitting top of the table by two points.

We would go on to win another seven league games that season to finish the job in style.

1988-89

The foundations of Chelsea’s most recent promotion campaign were laid in the Year of the Dragon back in 1988, with the Blues remaining in the top flight ever since. Bobby Campbell’s team started the season as one of the favourites to reach the top flight after they were relegated via a play-off the previous year.

But even the most optimistic of supporters couldn’t have predicted what was to follow as the side were to prove far too good for second-tier opposition.

With the magnificent Kerry Dixon returning to top form up front and hitting 25 league goals that season, the Blues stormed to the old Second Division title, collecting 99 points and losing only five games.

The best result within the Lunar New Year was also the biggest win of that season, when Campbell’s side destroyed Walsall 7-0 on February 4, 1989. Striker Gordon Durie helped himself to five that day, with Kevin Wilson and Graham Roberts also on target.

The Blues would eventually finish 17 points clear of second placed Manchester City to book an immediate return to the top flight.

2000-01

Continuing the theme of collecting silverware in the Year of the Dragon, we move to the turn of the millennium and our third FA Cup triumph.

Led by the much-missed Gianluca Vialli, Chelsea hit top form to coincide with the Lunar New Year, recording a 1-0 win at Tottenham on the first day of the festival on February 5.

That led to a run of four straight league wins, the Blues only losing three more games in the Premier League before the end of the season, finishing fifth. But the cup provided the real highlight of the season.

Chelsea saw off Hull City, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, and Gillingham to reach the semi-final where a Gus Poyet double downed Newcastle 2-1 at Wembley.

That meant a return to the Twin Towers a month later to face Aston Villa, in the last-ever major cup final at the original Wembley.

Future manager Di Matteo proved to be the matchwinner, firing home the only goal of the game in the 73rd minute, to ensure we started the 21st century in a fitting fashion.

2012-13

What many supporters consider the greatest night in our club history coincided with the most recent Year of the Dragon.

This particular Lunar New Year didn’t start well, with draws against Swansea and Manchester United followed by a disappointing defeat at Everton that left us fifth in the table and outside the Champions League spots.

However, the appointment of club legend Roberto Di Matteo as interim manager in March, following the dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas, led to a turnaround in fortunes.

Incredible Champions League nights, that will live long in the memory of supporters, against Napoli, Benfica and Barcelona came along in the weeks that followed, eventually taking the Blues to the final.

That led to the spectacular May night in Munich, which saw Chelsea defeat Bayern Munich on home soil in a dramatic penalty shootout to claim a first-ever Champions League title.

The famous victory also saw the Blues become the first-ever London club to win the European Cup, a feat we repeated in 2021.

Didier Drogba, the hero of that final after scoring a late equaliser to force extra-time and his shootout spot-kick, was also on target in our FA Cup final win over Liverpool two weeks prior at Wembley, as Chelsea lifted two trophies in the last Year of the Dragon.